Meet the Community of El Fraile

El Fraile is relatively typical of the more than 2,000 communities that rely upon the Alto Río Laja Aquifer for their water and are facing serious health and economic threats as our finite water resource continues to dwindle away, increasingly leaving the water that is available highly contaminated. 

Over the years, El Fraile has become surrounded by massive agricultural production. From every direction all one can see are endless fields growing lettuce, broccoli, and a wide variety of other crops – almost exclusively for export to the U.S.  These crops are particularly water hungry and use a huge portion of the available water. These dynamics have led the well in El Fraile, which was drilled in 1991, to completely dry up. So, while the crops at all the huge farms surrounding El Fraile are well irrigated, the people in the community no longer have a local source of fresh water of any kind. In effect, their water is being exported to the United States, and other foreign markets, in the form of vegetables. 

When El Fraile lost their water, the community leaders petitioned the San Miguel municipal government for help, and the municipality began to provide a truckload of water every eight days, which remains the case currently. Unfortunately, this does not meet even the most minimal requirements of the 132 families living in the community. So, even after rationing, recycling water for as many uses as possible, and minimizing sanitation needs,  the families in El Friale simply don’t have enough water to meet their needs. To bridge the gap, families buy more water from a private water truck, sometimes buy bottled water, or, more often, go to nearby ranches and ask for water from their wells.  

Having heard of the work Caminos de Agua does, a young man from a nearby community, approached us and asked if we could help El Fraile. We have met with the community. They are already organized and eager to begin the work with us. We plan to hold educational workshops and ultimately build, in partnership with the community, as many rainwater harvesting systems as possible to assure that the families have long-term water access.

If we can raise enough money, we can have a solution built and in place in El Fraile to capture a good deal of this year’s valuable rainwater – and, every dollar you give now is immediately doubled, allowing us to help so many more people in El Fraile.